Three stars went to Sean Bergenheim, Scott Clemmensen and Brian Campbell in a wild comeback that made Martin Brodeur look his almost 40 years of age. Can anyone explain these crazy swings? I thought 3-0 leads in hockey were safe? No more. Here’s the story in case you haven’t paid up for the web site and don’t want to save all our jobs!

NEWARK, N.J. — Let’s see. Spot the Devils another first-period, three-goal lead with lock Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur in net and his former backup Scott Clemmensen with seven minutes of playoff experience in the other.

A perfect recipe for disaster or victory?

Throw in the tying goal coming from defenseman Mike Weaver who hadn’t scored a goal all season and none over his past 116 regular-season games.

Time’s up. If you guessed Panther’ victory, give yourself a free trip to the Jersey Shore where only The Situation and Snooki could’ve explained this crazy comeback.

For the third time in franchise history, but first in the postseason, the Panthers erased a three-goal deficit in regulation by firing in three power-play goals against the NHL’s top-ranked penalty-killing unit en route to a wild 4-3 victory Tuesday night at a restless, sold-out Prudential Center.

The Panthers took a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 on Thursday back in the ‘Pru’ where the Devils have gone 3-8 in playoff games since moving to Newark before the 2007-08 season. It was the Panthers’ first road playoff win since Game 7 of the 1996 Eastern Conference finals against Pittsburgh.

“It’s almost like golf, someone with a lower handicap and you spot them a few every hole,’’ said Panthers coach Kevin Dineen. “It’s been that way every game in the series with teams coming out like gangbusters.

“Wish I had an excuse why we got overwhelmed as bad as we did to start that game. … We settled down, got it going … and we always find a way to push back.’’

Three of the Panthers’ goals came from defensemen, including the game-winner from Brian Campbell, who had four all season, at 6:34 of the second, and Weaver, who hadn’t scored since Jan. 25, 2011.

“It’s important to get it from all different areas in the playoffs. It’s not always going to come from [Stephen Weiss’] line,’’ Campbell said. “Weaver has a good shot. I’ve been yelling at him to shoot all year.’’

Clemmensen relieved a beseiged Jose Theodore after he allowed three goals on six shots in the first 6:16, with none truly his fault after another comatose start by his defense.

Clemmensen, whose only other previous playoff experience of 6:53 came on May 6, 2006 when he relieved Brodeur in a 6-0 loss to the Hurricanes, had 19 saves for the first postseason victory of his 10-year career, five of which he spent backing up Brodeur.

That was the last time Brodeur – who has 100 career playoff wins – was yanked in the postseason.

“I don’t care what their regular-season record was or ours, the story now is playoffs moving forward,’’ Clemmensen said. “Having such a limited amount of playoff experience at this level it would be special to start but just contribute in a major way for this team.’’

Zach Parise’s wrister just 33 seconds after the opening faceoff made it 1-0. At 3:27, Stephen Gionta’s fancy deflection made it 2-zip. A Patrik Elias power-play putback over a prone Theodore ended his evening.

The goalie switch and timeout seemed to both settle down and energize the Panthers, who bounced back with two power-play goals in the final four minutes of the first.

Scottie Upshall launched a shot as he crossed the red line. Brodeur gave up a long rebound which playoff phenom Sean Bergenheim roofed to make it 3-1 at 16:11.

Then a sideboard tete-a-tete between Upshall and Bryce Salvador resulted in a 4-on-3 advantage for the Panthers with 1:47 left. With eight seconds left in the period, Bergenheim set up Garrison at the blue line for his patented 52-foot bomb and a reachable 3-2 deficit after one.

At 2:18 of the second period Jerred Smithson got it out to Weaver for a floater that eluded Brodeur with Upshall providing a screen.

“We can’t keep on doing that consistently in the playoffs,’’ said Weaver, who earned the postgame MVP heavyweight champion boxing belt. “I was just more pumped about tying it. Enjoy tonight and amnesia.’’

The Panthers also came back from 3-0 down to beat the Devils 4-3 on Nov. 21.

Devils coach Pete DeBoer yanked Brodeur for Johan Hedberg, but he surrendered the eventual game-winner to Campbell. The Panthers were 3-of-3 on the power play and 6-of-10 in the series against a unit that hadn’t allowed three in any one game all season.

Zidlicky’s long shot beat Clemmensen with 1:24 left in the second but referee Tim Peel immediately waved it off because Steve Bernier bumped Clemmensen before the puck went in.

Comments (22 Comments)

The first 6 minutes were brutal to watch. Everything after that was fantastic. As I predicted earlier today, the first period was a far cry from what we saw on Sunday. But the Panthers made some key adjustments and took advantage when the Devils seemed to relax, thinking they had the Panthers number.

Dineen did the right thing, making the goalie switch when he did. It woke the team up, allowed him to make some strategic changes and also probably cooled off the Devils. Kudos to Clemmenson for coming in cold and playing lights out.

This was easily the most exciting Panthers win since that crazy Cup run long ago. Thursday will be an equally tough test, but after tonight it’s very possible that the Devils will begin to question themselves and maybe have some doubt in their game. Panthers need to keep their foot on the gas pedal and come home with a 3-1 series lead.

Wow. Never have expected this. I was happy not to get routed 4 zip in the series.
I was actualy for Pete but having seen the games it points very heavly to poor coaching on the Devils side. Well and of course to good coaching on our side.
Pulling Marty was not a wise move imo. But hey whatever suits them hihi.
I am impressed with most of our players but have to say Gub and Weisser do stand out. Go Cats. Anything now is just iceing on the cake for me.

Fun game to watch. Cudo’s to “Taz” Bergenheim for jump starting the comeback. The guy is just so determined, and is a whirlwind like the Looney Tunes character.

DeBoer must be going nuts with those stoopid penalties that his players keep taking. You knew they couldn’t keep up the adrenaline rush of the first 6 minutes, and to the Panthers credit they stayed composed and kept their feet moving and countered perfectly against a tiring Devil team.

SC would have also had his problems in the first 6 minutes but I still think he brings a settling influence to the team. Hope he gets the start Thursday, but I’m not going to hold my breath.

Pretty amazing how a team can just stand around and be so completely overwhlemed at the beginning of the game; and then somehow a switch gets turned on and the entire roster plays smart and with incredible intensity. It’s just really bizarre to watch.. Please fix that switch so that it stays on. GO CATS!

Bergenheim is starting that playoff magic I saw here in Tampa last year, and I still think Clem is the go to guy in the net. Wish I could see the games as FSN and Fox doesn’t show the Cats in this market, and I’ll be darned paying the NHL network on cable. But, I must say it’s interesting listing to the radio broadcast. Reminds me of the old days when the team first started. Keep Going Cats!!!

Wow……I Finnally got my wish…..I’m sure Dana will agree with me….nice to see the real starting goalie come in and shut the door on that Devils circus 6 minutes…..ill hold my breath waiting for him to start game 4…..probably not…we cant be playing like this in the next round…especially the 3 goal lead…..yeah i said it….Next Round….to the doubters who said and I quote…At least win one game….his name rhimes with BED…..keep it up panthers…….Clemmer saved this series…..great job…..

With what was going on in those first 6 minutes, it wouldn’t have mattered if Patrick Roy was in the net for the Panthers. Devils were all over them, the Panthers couldn’t cleanly get the puck out of their own end and looked like a deer in the headlights. No doubt that Clemmenson played great and Theodore was probably so rattled after those 3 goals that regardless of any other strategic changes Dineen made, Theodore probably wouldn’t have been able to do the job Clemmenson did over the next 54 minutes of hockey. But, had Clemmenson started, we probably would have had the same result, only with Theodore being the hero.

Two entirely different goalies, and both effective when they are on. JT is cat quick and feeds off emotion. He can overplay the puck when he is not on his game, but can dominate when he’s in a zone. SC is a technical specialist, and doesn’t get caught up in the moment. He covers the angles perfectly and will stop just about anything he can see and make it look simple. His weakness is lateral movement, which hurts him on breakaways and passes across the crease. Both seem to not take it personally when the other is chosen, as this is what has made them a great duo all year.

Patrick Elias still doesn’t get it. Earlier this year he put down the Panthers, calling them a one line team. After yesterday’s game he still won’t give the Panthers any respect. In the Newark Star-Ledger, in a post game interview, he said the following:

Patrik Elias said: “You see if we play the right way we’re all over them. But when we get out of our game, I don’t know if it’s with lack of discipline or the way we play, we give them life. We make them look good. They’re good when you give them time.”

Gosh Patrick, just about any team in the NHL will look good when they have time (and space). But time (and space) isn’t something just given. It’s something teams create through positioning, movement and effort. Fact is, the Devils didn’t make the Panthers look good. Rather, it was the Panthers who did those things necessary to score those 4 goals and look good in the process. And for the most part, the Panthers took away the extra time (and space) Devils had during those first 6 minutes. Yeah, the Devils got ahead of themselves after those 3 goals and took their foot off the gas pedal, but the Panthers deserve lots of credit for not allowing them to successfully get their foot back on the gas and also for finding their own gas pedal.

I made a similar statement on another board yesterday where I stated that the general observation is that when the Devils carry play it is just because they are better but when the Panthers carry play it is because the Devils are playing poorly. The Elias comment seems to reinforce that mentality.

The bottom line is that Devils have a blitz mentality that is tough to restart once spent while the Panthers appear to be mentally tougher and more resilient.

Go back and look at Pete Deboer’s tenure here and you will see many losses where the team got out to a 2 or 3 goal lead early in the game. Is that the players or a product of the system he employs? He certainly has more accomplished raw talent on that roster than he ever had here in Florida.

After three games the Panthers have learned how quickly you can fall behind, the effort levels required to generate chances, the importance of special teams and that they do have what it takes to when with the lead or coming from behind.

Rat – Interesting point you make about DeBoer. Personally, I think it’s a reflection of his style. In that same story (with the Elias quote), DeBoer said:

“I don’t really have an explanation,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “I think we have to learn as a group how to play in that situation and it starts with not taking penalties. We’ve been burned in two games now taking penalties and their power play has been the difference.”

Geez, how many times did we hear basically the same thing from him in his stint as Panthers head coach? Lou Lamoriello isn’t exactly the most patient guy and if the Panthers bounce the Devils from the playoffs, the idea that DeBoer doesn’t have an explanation for why they lost isn’t going to sit well with him. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him one and done as head coach.

I know we all got tired of hearing about the “Learning process” under Deboer. As a coach he has the Xs and Os but channeling mental toughness onto his team was never his forte.

I went back and compared numbers from 2008-2009 through this year. Dineen has a higher winning % when scoring first and his winning % when leading after 1 period was also higher. Deboer had a better % when leading after 2 periods than Dineen in 2 of his 3 seasons. Those stats don’t seem to lean one way or another.

The real kicker is how many times under Deboer that the Panthers had a 2 or 3 goal lead to open the scoring and ended up losing. In the 246 games he coached there were 18 instances where the Panthers lost. Under Dineen this year it happened twice, once against TB and once against WIN (In what should have been the SE division clincher).

The one thing I like about Dineen is he tells it like it is and his team learns from their mistakes. Having been a player who went through the trials, his experience lends itself to a better mentoring role than Deboer.

The “soft ice” reminds me of the 60s and early 70s when Montreal would go to Boston Gardens. Boston would keep the ice “soft” to slow down the much faster skating Canadians. People may not realize but players have to get their skates sharpened with a different edge and it takes much more effort to skate on soft ice.

Anyway, congrats to the Cats. This was the most frustrating start I have seen in a playoff hockey game since…hmmmmmm…game 1. lol It was the most exciting comeback I can ever remember.

Devils were getting to the boards where the Panthers try and clear the puck, beating the Panthers to the puck. Dineen made the correction but only after the third goal. Panthers always try and spin the puck around the board to another Panther but the Devils were waiting and getting the puck keeping it in the Panthers zone. Devils watch video and know how Panthers like to get out of their own zone. Panthers have to be better to adapt to the Devils. They kept spinning the puck around to a waiting Devil that kept the play in the Panthers’ zone. They can’t start the next game again with that method or they will be down goals again. Nice comeback once they made that change.

Agreed. I noticed that tactic at the beginning of the 3rd period in game 2 that led to the Devils two goals.

We just need to get better puck support along the half wall and not allow our guys to be isolated. Puck possession is great but if you have a chance to get it out rather than turn it back, get it out! If the Devils keep trying that tactic and our guys adjust it will lead to rush opportunities as they will have one guy deep anticipating a back pass along the boards and another guy will be stationed to handle a cross D-pass. We hit the center with a quick outlet pass and we can transition into their zone.

Bottom line here is the Devils are like a swarm of bees around our net. If we keep them to the outside, they aren’t dangerous at all. I think it’s a shame that Elias continues to bash us as a team, even Mike Milbury last night was throwing us compliments left and right.

I am in favor of bringing Bergenheim up to the top line and moving Versteeg down. Bergie just shines in the playoffs. One player no one is mentioning, is Scott Upshall. He very quietly got two assists last night while being a force on the puc all series long. Good for him. Hopefully next season he plays non-injured so we can properly judge him. We win tomorrow, and the BAC will just be exploding on Saturday.

I like Bergie where he is. He, Goc and Sammy have clicked pretty much from the get go. Their line will hopefully free up our top line by giving the Devils more matchups to defend against.

I think Versteeg is fine, as long as he keeps his game simple and refrains from the silly penalties. By simple, I mean when in position to shoot take it, when in position to clear the puck clear it, when in position to take the body take it.

Ugly start, actually, mind boogling start after the same brain fart effort in game one. Guess we need to start all the games @ 7:30 not 7:00 LOL………Great job by Clemmer coming in & keeping us in there. Upshall is playing like a man on a mission. All game he worked his tail off and it payed off bigtime!
KD & Murph must have sat Kuli down and showed him examples of what I’ve been talking about, bad passes, too many pinches etc coz he certainly played a more conservative game last night.
Give kudos to Goc. He played a great 2 way game & Sammi continues to be cool calm & collected LOL……..The Goc, Bergy & Sammi line is our go to line!
Versteeg? terrible, nothing new here. He’s got to pop in a few goals to make amends for all the negative stuff he does game in & game out. KD needs to sit him down and read the riot act to him or bench the guy & teach him a lesson. When he gonna learn you can’t stick handle by 5 guys? Dumb & selfish! He’s costing us opportunities and making it hard for his line mates to do anything. I’m getting tired & frustrated about writing this every game.

The D’s been physical and props to Guddy for playing like a 5 year vet. I love the way we’re throwing the body out there and the difference between us & the Devils is we have D men who can score. Who woulda ever believed 3 out of our 4 goals were scored by D Men. So happy for Weaver getting the tying goal but I bet he’s give up the credit for his goal if he & the rest of the D kept the score below 2. We gotta tighten up. Did you see the 3rd NJ goal? Sturm totally blew his coverage of Elias and that can’t happen.

We came back and to me it ranks as one of the greatest comebacks in Panther history. Unreal & unbelieveable but we did it. Loved watching DeBorings face when we tied & then took the lead. How many times did we see that sourpuss face when he coached us?

Another plus for us is that we roll 4 lines and all 4 are contributing. Can’t say that about the Devils and I loved watching Kovi huffing & puffing the whole 3rd period.

Also, I agree it was a bad move pulling Marty but he looked and has looked shaky at times so DeBoring pulling him shows he doesnt have confidence in his #1. On the other hand, we have 2 goalies we can rely on. Clemmer, coming in cold like he has and making the big save when we need it is awesome. I thought we were get screwed once again when the devils scored what would have been the tying goal. That happened in Toronto this year and it was great to see the refs giving us one back. Karma I guess but we’ll take it right?
We now know we can beat these guys so tomorrow let’s get the jump like we did in game 2 and pop in a couple of quick ones ourselves.
If we take game 4 we’ll be coming home to a crowd that will blow the roof off the BAC.

We got the pundits & the rest of the league sitting up & taking notice. Would be a great story to beat the Devils & move on to the next round……………

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About the author

HARVEY FIALKOV, a tennis-playing sportswriter who grew up in Long Island following the dynastic Islanders, is the new Panthers beat writer for the Sun Sentinel and looking forward to writing about the best professional sports team in Broward County.